Exploring a Paradox at the European Periphery: The Different Timing and Mode of Enactment of Non-State Universities in Cyprus and Greece

This article analyses the enactment of non-state universities in Cyprus and Greece suggesting that the participation of the private sector in the higher education of the two countries cannot be explained solely by Europeanisation or the diffusion of the “neoliberal university”. It is specifically argued that while a colonial legacy emerging out of a rivalry between church and state over the control of education (1931–1959), fostered openness to the private sector’s participation in Cyprus, such participation faced strong resistance in Greece as it was associated with the dismantling of the “democratic university” that was established as a response to post-Civil War authoritarianism (1949–1974).